Be careful what you wish for
by Shadowflame77
Summary: What happened to Heather in New Bern? "Be careful what you wish for…" is a companion piece to "Constantino's Pet" - it takes place the day before and ends when "CP" starts… but I would recommend reading "CP" BEFORE this one… :) It's a Dark Fic, an AU Story to Jericho. It might bring some light in what (may have) happened in New Bern - at least in my alternate universe...
1. Chapter 1

This is a Dark Fic, an AU Story to Jericho.

"Be careful what you wish for…" is a companion piece to "Constantino's Pet"- it takes place the day before and ends when "Constantino's Pet" starts… but I would recommend reading "Constantino's Pet" BEFORE this one… :)

It fits into the timeline of S1, E16 "Winter's End"

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**Warnings: **Angst, hints of slavery, rape and torture, strong language.

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Please, let me know what you think, I live for reviews! :)  
And sad, but true: reviews are the fuel to keep me going on!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Jericho or its citizens *sniffs* - I sadly have to give them back each time after writing… :(

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**_BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR…  
_****_Chapter 1_**

Finally… finally the day had come! In a few hours she would be going home…

Relief washed over her when she put the last piece she had worked on down on the table, rubbing her grease covered hands with a towel.

The windmill was finished. They had tested it several times and had over and over again worked on the blades to balance them out; the mechanical governor had been tricky, like expected, but she and Ted had eventually been able to nose it out. And now she had just made the finishing touches to the drive train.

She couldn't help but feel proud that she really had done it – she had built a working wind turbine from the scratch. She would bring the light back to Jericho like she had promised Jake… and because part of her deal with Constantino had been that she would cede the blueprints of the structural design to him and would teach his men how to replicate them, she knew for sure that she had helped New Bern get back on its feet. They could now trade windmills for food and other desperately needed things, so she had brought light (and life) back to other cities besides Jericho, too.

She had done a good thing…

But the small smile Heather had allowed herself vanished slowly and she suppressed a shiver, involuntarily wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her upper arms.

It was a win-win-situation, it really was, but she had misgivings about it… because in New Bern the only winners would be Phil Constantino and his cadre, but no one else...

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tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

Heather's eyes flickered across the hall up to the irregularly spaced and grimy windows in the wall; surprised, she realized that it was already dark outside, that all the workers – the regular ones, who worked the assembly lines, and the "others", haggard looking women and children who in silence worked their way through piles of clothing and other obviously seized and stolen goods, closely watched by armed henchmen of Constantino - had left; the plant had fallen silent around her awhile ago, but she was just registering it now.

If she wanted to arrive back at the cabin on time, she would have to go soon.

Constantino didn't like to wait. On anybody.

Sure enough, she could hear footsteps nearing. Immediately, she squared her shoulders, set her face into a neutral expression, and turned around to face the arrival.

She spotted her "ride" talking with Pete, her personal watchdog of the day - for sure he was debriefing the brawny guy about her day - what she had done, to whom she had spoken, when she had left for the ladies' room… Thankfully it was just Perkins, one of Constantino's deputies, and not _her_. Perkins was bad enough, but facing Lizzy… another shudder ran through her emaciated body.

Putting the tools neatly away, she couldn't keep her teeth from chattering - it was unbearably cold all the time. This winter was extraordinarily hard; as if the bombs and their aftermath were not enough to face, it was like mother nature was doing her best to help wipe out the next round of lives...

Heather shook off that dark thought. It was not like her to be that negative, but it was hard to stay her usual cheerful self with all she had had to face in the last weeks, and maybe she would never be that cheerful again.

Working on the small parts of the windmill today had demanded as much maneuverability as possible, so she had gotten rid of her warm coat a few hours earlier and wore only a long-sleeved shirt with a thin jacket, a scarf and fingerless gloves in spite of the low temperature in the factory.

Chilled to the bone, she had to admit that this outfit was not the best choice given all the weight she had lost in the past weeks; she'd lost enough to freeze even in summerlike temperatures, she mused - but she doubted that there was anything out there which could keep her warm these days anyway; she was freezing from the inside and was not sure if this ever would change again…

"Ready to go?" Perkins suddenly appeared at her side and interrupted her pondering, leering down at her, almost making her jump.

She ignored his wicked gaze as best she could and answered, "Yeah, I'm done. It's finished and we can finally roll it out tomorrow!"

His eyes darkened and his mouth twitched slightly, deepening the engraved lines around his thin lips, contorting his face into a sneer.

Heather's heart jumped painfully and she knew that she had put on a bad performance of masking the eagerness she felt at the thought that tomorrow she would return to Jericho, to safety… and that she would see Jake again.

The knot in her already too-nervous stomach tightened and dread took over.

Something was off, she could sense it.

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tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

From the first moment she had been led into Constantino's study all those long and cold weeks ago, she had known that she had made a big mistake and that she would somehow, someday have to pay for it. Maybe this time had now come…

Gulping heavily, she picked up her coat and followed Perkins out to the parking lot, all the while fighting hard against a feeling of foreboding and remembering uneasily the night after Black Jack, the night she had come "home" to New Bern.

...oOo...

_It had been a strange feeling to return to New Bern, the town in which she had been born and raised._

After her father had died six years ago, she couldn't stand being there, she needed to go away… Her mother had died giving birth to her and so her father had been her whole world.

There had been nothing left besides memories which hurt too much, so she had turned her back on everything tied to New Bern; she'd just secured her father's house (now hers) and left to study in Wichita. 

_It was not what she had planned for her life at all, but she had dropped out of her scholarship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to rush home to take care of her terminally ill father and after those horrible months of helplessly watching him die, she had not had the fightleft in herself to resume her studies at MIT. So she had buried her dreams of becoming an engineer and settled for becoming a school teacher instead, like her parents had been._

Besides attending the University, she had volunteered in several aid programs for troubled kids founded by the Central Christian Church of Wichita. 

_She loved having kids around and found it soothing; it helped her through the very hard first years of grief and eventually she settled in her new role.  
_

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tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**__

After graduating, Heather was more than happy when she found employment at the elementary school of Jericho, and she made that sleepy little Kansas town her new home.

She wanted to be close to her parents' roots, but couldn't bring herself to live in New Bern, so Jericho it was.

Of course she had several times visited New Bern, usually in the company of Emily and Roger, attending the cinema or going to the mall…but she had avoided coming near her home. It just was too painful remembering her father's last days and how helpless she had been.

What made her uncomfortable, too, was her guilty conscience because she knew she should take the time to visit Uncle Phil whilst she was there, but she just couldn't.

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tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**__

Uncle Phil had been the best friend of her father and she had been often at his house as a little girl, strolling through the stables, working with her father on one of Uncle Phil's cars, browsing through his books in the library.

They really had been close, once…but she had two reasons why she couldn't bring herself to visit him. Firstly, because it was too painful, all those memories coming up at the Manor… and secondly, because ever since her father was gone she had felt, to put it mildly, uncomfortable there. Uncle Phil had somehow changed…

So she really had felt more than nervous that night when she returned home to New Bern accompanied by Ted and Russell.

Not to mention that she was absolutely devastated after literally lying to Jake's face and leaving him when she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and admit how much she loved him. But she had been down that road before – granted, she had not been using words-but weren't actions supposed to speak louder than words? Kissing him on Main Street should have done the trick, but it didn't… and after screwing up big time (and she was not even thinking of the "giant irradiated ants" incident right now even though that had been the icing on the cake!) she had at least enough pride left not to make a fool out of herself for a second time.

Had she really told him that she was taking a page out of his book, that she was brave enough to take on whatever she had to face out here in New Bern? She must have been crazy… but either she had been convincing enough or he just didn't care – because he had let her go.

Honestly, once again he had sent controversial signals… he had hugged her long and desperately enough to make her imagine that he perhaps did like her after all and didn't want to let her go - she almost had given in then – but the next moment he had released her, just sullenly watching her leave like it wouldn't bother him at all…

With effort she shook it off. Jake had made it clear that he was not interested; maybe he liked her enough as a friend, but for sure not in the way she wanted him to.

She needed to concentrate on her self-imposed mission now. Jake was history. At least she tried to convince herself of that… Thank God they had arrived in New Bern before she fell apart and burst into tears.

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tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_**__

Russell and Ted had decided that they would take her immediately to the cabin to meet with Constantino, so that she could discuss her business with him.

Heather was a bit confused - why was Uncle Phil calling his house a "cabin"? It made no sense to call it that; it was a big old manor with several rooms and adjoining buildings, stables and barns which she knew so well…

Too soon she found herself in front of Constantino as Russell did the talking and Uncle Phil gazed at her like he had never seen her before. His face was set like stone and his blue eyes were scrutinizing her, eying her up and down, and she felt stripped bare and evaluated like a piece of meat.

But just a split-second later his face had lit up into a warm smile and he had jumped up and circled the table to hug her, excitedly chatting away over this and that - and she had felt slightly giddy as she returned his embrace hesitantly and scolded herself for being so wary… Maybe it had been the menacing beard he had grown since she last saw him. It gave him a dark, slightly devious look and made her shiver.

She had shaken off those unfamiliar feelings and had offered him her plans for the windmill.

Constantino had smiled and nodded and had said all the right things, but deep inside she had had the sickening feeling that he still was weighing her value, pondering over how he could manipulate her, how to make this work for him… and she had shivered again.

Finally they had agreed that she could work with Ted and a few other men at the old brake factory and that she would live in a guest room here at the cabin – it would be too much effort to heat her own house or to find enough material to do so.

If she really was able to build the wind turbine, she would get the first one for free and be able to take it back to Jericho – but she would give the plans and rights for future windmills to Constantino, so that he could use them for barter.

Heather was pleased with that agreement. Though it would be tricky to get the wind turbine into action, it wouldn't be impossible. The deal should work out for both sides.

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tbc...


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**__

A short time later he had led her to a spare guest room and had ordered his assistant Lizzy to help her feel at home, to make sure she had all she needed – including a change of clothes and some toiletries; after all, she had left Jericho only to visit Black Jack, not to stay away for a few days.

In hindsight, Heather had to confess that if Constantino had made her shiver, then this Lizzy had freaked her out.

She was a beautiful Asian woman with long, jet-black hair and green eyes, but they were cold as ice and seemed to pierce right into Heather's soul and strip it to its core.

Somehow that woman was always invading Heather's personal space, rubbing her shoulders against Heather's whilst walking or bending forward so that her hair was brushing over Heather. Little things like that, but happening frequently.

And from day one she seemed to be everywhere that Heather was. That was just creepy. Heather was even convinced that the Asian woman was in her room during the night, watching her…

...oOo...

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tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

That she was being observed in general quickly became clear.

When she woke in the morning and opened the door of her room, one of Constantino's men greeted her or Lizzy 'happened' to walk by and accompanied her to breakfast.

Whenever she returned to her room, her few belongings were always slightly displaced – just a notch, just enough for her to notice, to make her feel uncomfortable.

She was escorted to work and back and she always was shadowed by one of the deputies - or worse, by Lizzy.

When she tried to talk to someone her watchdogs immediately intervened and hastened her away…

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tbc...


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

Fact was, they could try to shield her from social contacts and dictate the route she took, but they couldn't completely blind her. New Bern had shifted into something dark.

Bad things had happened here – she had registered the damage of heavy artillery and bullet holes in the buildings near the center, had seen the burnt-out frames of cars, had become aware of the high number of heavily armed road blockades.

She had heard this damage had been caused by Ravenwood when they had raided the town and that they had taken several lives in the process. Heather was shocked - so this was what would have happened to Jericho if Jake hadn't threatened to blow up himself and the bridge to keep them out. It made her sick.

She saw the haggard, hopeless faces of the people in the streets, more like zombies in movies than living people… and she soon had discovered the bunch of half-starved children hiding in the streets, begging for food and water whenever Constantino's men were not in sight.

Heather was horrified – compared to New Bern, Jericho, even with all its problems, was paradise! Things were tight there, but New Bern lacked everything, except at Constantino's cabin...he and his men seemed to lack nothing.

Heather joined him each morning for breakfast, each evening for dinner… and he and his men had more on their plates than the people in Jericho had – and a hundred times more than the New Bernians had!

It was just not fair…

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tbc...


	10. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10_**

Heather grew thin and thinner due to the permanent stress of her constant vague misgivings and lack of sleep – she was worrying too much and when she finally managed to fall asleep, it was fitful, afflicted by nightmares.

Remembering the worn out and skinny faces in town worsened her already upset stomach - she lost her appetite and what she could choke down refused staying there. She just couldn't eat, feeling observed like an attraction at the Zoo and knowing that the other people out there were starving. What Constantino was doing here was just not right!

Mayor Green – darn it, even the new Mayor Anderson! – would have rationed that food and spread it fairly among the people, not kept it under his hat! __

That was when she started to stash food away and bring it with her to the factory.

She had seen the abandoned kids hiding in the small alleyway behind the factory and one day she had managed to sneak out and talk to them.

Their adverse fate had made her cry… some of them had been transients and had been separated from their parents, others were New Bernians but their parents had disappeared and their houses had been raided and barricaded by Constantino's men.

All of them were in pretty bad shape, half-starved, freezing and hopeless. The eldest was fourteen, the youngest three years old.__

Heather had promised to bring them food and had done it ever since. She just waited for the right moment to sneak to that backdoor and drop a bag outside… sometimes she spoke quietly to the young girl who always seemed to be the bravest of them, at least she was the one sneaking up to the door to get the food.

Her name was Stella; she was seven years old and the daughter of Italian immigrants. They had been on the run from Denver and had passed through New Bern when suddenly her parents had been arrested for "trespassing". At her father's warning call she had run and hidden in the shadows, watching in horror as her parents were manhandled and carted away – and she had never ever seen them again.

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tbc...


	11. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_**

Hearing their stories – especially Stella's - made Heather tremble, because finally the penny dropped.

She immediately thought of the group of women and children she watched every morning working on heaps of stuff, when she entered the Factory. Could it really be? Here – in New Bern? The town where she had grown up?

She had heard about it in Black Jack and refused to believe it until Dale found the handcuffs, chains and bloodstained cots; that was outrageous enough, but… New Bern?

Heather felt gutted and almost threw up. It all made sense now - those desperate and skinny women with the lifeless eyes, working just a few feet away from her, were slaves!

She never had much time in the morning, rushed through the entrance into her working space by her escort, but she had always wondered why they looked so oppressed and anxious. Now she knew, now she understood… more and more details came flooding back to her, unconsciously observed whilst she was working – or had she deliberately ignored them, drowning them in fiddling with the windmill?

Heather had the sickening feeling it was partly both. She had banned the evidence from her thoughts so that she could work on, could finish what she had started so that she finally could escape this hell New Bern had become.

Seemed like she had an escape that the other women didn't have, maybe never would have…

She heavily sat down while more of those half-buried clues suddenly surfaced.

Sometimes she had heard soft sobs, accompanied by other voices, some soothing and some roughly reminding everyone to just shut up; she had once or twice seen one of the men manhandling one of the women, the said woman immediately taking an obedient stance. She had heard occasional cat whistles and obscene jokes. She had also seen bruises on the women, and how carefully some of them were moving, like they were hurting…

She had finally started perking up her ears and was really opening her eyes to her surroundings - and she had learned things which followed her into her dreams, which made her wake up covered in sweat with a cry on her lips…

…like when she was brought to work in the morning and she registered houses of former friends and neighbors nailed up with planks, which meant they were either trafficked or dead… presumably for standing up to Constantino.

…like the stifled cries she could sometimes hear resonating through the silent manor at night, accompanied by the faint sound of Lizzy's cruel laughter.

…like the number of street kids diminishing slowly, despite her efforts to feed them.

…like the conversation she had overheard between Perkins and Smith, that they "need to find a new dumping place in the woods, the old one's overcrowded and it's no fun to dig up somethin' stinkin' ".

There is only so much you can take – and the sheer horror which had coursed through her body after witnessing this exchange had shaken her to the core and made something snap inside of her…

She had heard and seen all these things and had ducked her head and went on with her work!

She was no better than those scumbags… she had turned a blind eye to the things happening around her and that made her mad… but really - what could she do? Truthfully, here in New Bern, nothing… but when she finally returned to Jericho with the windmill, she could go to Jake and Johnston, tell them everything, and for sure they would find a way to stop Constantino!

That was what she could do. Carry on, work as quickly as possible, biting down on her tongue, swallowing the bile which was rising just at the thought of what those poor women had to endure, try to keep a low profile so that Constantino – and especially Lizzy – would still think she was wrapped up in her work and was too busy to realize what was happening around her… and then make a run for it and get Jericho's help.

It had been hard work for her to keep up the masquerade and keep her mouth shut ever since she'd figured it out, especially during the dinners with Constantino and Lizzy, watching them stuffing their faces, having to prove her day's work to Constantino while he graced her with a fatherly smile. It made her choke.

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tbc...


	12. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12_**

It was like she was trapped in a never ending horror story and her only way out was that damn wind turbine she once had hoped would change everything for her.

Heather snorted a dry laugh which threatened to turn into a sob, only remembering at the very last second that she was not alone.

Perkins shot a suspicious side-glance at her, but thankfully kept quiet.

Returning to her train of thought she had to admit - her wish HAD come true, but unlike she had imagined. The windmill HAD changed everything - it had stripped away all of her naiveté and faith…

Clenching her fists in an effort to stay calm, she recalled an old saying: **_Be careful what you wish for._**

For sure never would anything else prove so true…

She had wanted to change her life; either become a girl Jake Green would notice, regard as equal, maybe eventually fall in love with, or grow strong enough to end this ridiculous and painful crush she had had on him from the first second she had met him on that fateful day of the bombs.

And how had that worked out?

Heather's hand came up to clandestinely brush aside a tear that escaped despite her efforts to hold herself together.

Since the first night here in New Bern, all she could think of was him, even more intensely than before – and she had never thought that that was possible.

Heather heaved another sigh and tried for the umpteenth time to rip Jake out of her heart, but to no avail, as always… he just kept creeping back, wearing his lopsided smile, making her tremble with longing, making her heart break over and over again…

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tbc...


	13. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_**

In the meantime, she shrugged herself into her thick coat and followed Perkins outside to his patrol car, still lost in her dark thoughts.

The air of the early December evening was biting cold, the wind cutting straight to her bones and making Heather shake violently.

Here in New Bern they at least had power… she desperately tried not to think about Jericho. How had they held up? Tomorrow she hopefully would find out…__

She quickly jumped into the car, suddenly eager to return to the manor, to tell Constantino that she had held up her end of the bargain and now he needed to fulfill his; but then she decided there was something she wanted to do first; she asked Perkins if it would be possible to make a stop at her old home. As things were here in New Bern, she was not sure if she ever would want to come back, so she wanted to take some personal things home to Jericho with her while she had the chance.

To her surprise, Perkins gave in and soon she found herself crying over a picture of her father in their old living room.

However, she knew that Constantino was waiting so she quickly pulled herself together and gathered the things she wanted to take with her… a photo album, her baby blanket which had been hand-knitted and embroidered with her name by her mother, some favorite childhood books she someday hoped to hand over to her children – if she ever had any, that is, and finally, the thing she had come to search for, the idea of which had occurred to her a fortnight before…

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tbc...


	14. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14_**

With nothing but her thoughts, growing more and more paranoid, as company at night, she had found herself either dwelling on Jake, engrossed in how the world had gone to hell, or remembering her childhood here in New Bern, and how much she had loved her father…

William Lisinski had been a teacher at New Bern High School and had collected all the yearbooks ever since his own time as a student there; remembering how often they had together skimmed through those books triggered the memory of a very special day in 1991...

_…oOo…_

_She must have been ten years old and her father had taken her to the big event, the last football game of the season between New Bern and Jericho… The sportive rivalry between both towns ran back to the childhood days of her father and he just couldn't wait to see "his" boys flooring Jericho High._

_Well, the New Bernians got taught a lesson that day… Jericho outplayed them easily, but the game had been such a great show - especially with the terrific touchdown a seventeen-year- old Stanley Richmond had scored at the very last second, which landed him a scholarship at Wichita State University – that her Dad didn't mind that fact at all._

_…oOo…_

Sitting on her skimpy bed in the ice-cold guest room of the manor, Heather had closed her eyes.

_…oOo…_

_Suddenly, she could almost feel the frosty air in her lungs, see the steaming breaths of hundreds of people, feel the electricity flaring through the crowd; everyone was standing, stomping, cheering - nothing could stop them. The uproar was overwhelming and made her blood race._

_The cheerleaders from Jericho started screaming and jumping up and down, their formerly perfect choreography forgotten. They were flinging their arms around the necks of their friends, singing and dancing and chanting Stanley's name._

_His teammates had gone wild and were chasing him around the field, finally cornering him and then parading him around on their shoulders, their faces proud and happy, shouting themselves hoarse._

_Heather would never forget the thrill that had coursed through her body; it had just been amazing…_

_…oOo…_

She shook herself out of her reverie and scanned the rows of yearbooks and finally found the one she was looking for. If she was right, it would contain something she desperately yearned for.

With shaking hands she opened the book and with a little cry of triumph she actually found it…

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tbc...


	15. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15_**

It was an article about said famous football game of 1991… and in this article was a picture of a very young Jake, with one of his lopsided smiles, directed at his beaming best friend, tugging painfully at her heart…

Immediately tears sprang up into her eyes and Heather blinked fiercely, fighting hard to gain back her composure.

She had now all she had come for, and with one last sad glance back at her childhood home, she scooped her treasures into her old school backpack and left.

Perkins said nothing when she reentered the car, but frowned at her and sped away. She knew he too feared bringing her late for dinner; Constantino was not the forgiving type.

Heather was just thankful he kept to himself; she felt drained after that short but intense excursion into her past.

Too soon they arrived at the cabin and she hurried up into her room, depositing her "new" old belongings on her bed, and freshened up, sneaking into the dining room just in time…

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tbc...


	16. Chapter 16

**_Chapter 16_**

Constantino and Lizzy were already waiting for her.

"Congratulations, my dear!" Constantino smiled at her. "I've heard you finished your work today - that is great news!"

The feeling of relief was so overwhelming that Heather just collapsed into her chair, smiling reluctantly back at the bearded town leader.

"Yeah, it's finally done… I have already briefed your men how to fix the last problem we had to face so they can go into production. Now the windmill can be packed up and I can return with it to Jericho tomorrow," she stated quietly.

Gathering all her courage, she met his eyes – cold and piercing despite the warm tone he had spoken with – and smiled up at him. "I can't thank you enough in the name of Jericho that you let me work in the old factory. I'm sure this wind turbine will make a difference for Jericho and for New Bern…"

Constantino just nodded, but Lizzy replied, "I'm sure it will!" with a strange timbre in her voice and a cat-got-the-cream expression on her face, her eyes twinkling dangerously.

Heather swallowed heavily and concentrated on her plate, shoving the food from right to left, no longer paying attention to the conversation between the two.

Thinking of food – today none of the kids had shown up at the back door to retrieve the food she had brought with her. That had never happened before and she was worried that something was wrong with them… but how could she find out? And who would provide those kids with food when she was back in Jericho?

She sighed. Hopefully, she could convince Jake and Johnston to do something about Constantino and his evil schemes… that was all she could do for them and for all the other people suffering under his leadership.

Just a few hours more…

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tbc...


	17. Chapter 17

**_Chapter 17_**

As soon as possible she excused herself for the evening – she needed to pack her few belongings and to calm down.

They bid her a good night, but Heather was sure that she had seen an expression of malicious joy flitting over Lizzy's face, which made her stomach turn.

She fled into her room and closed the door behind her, leaning against it and breathing heavily.

That needed to stop. Soon she would be home again, she needed just to hold it together for a few hours longer…

Closing her eyes, she sent up a little prayer for strength, then she gathered her few belongings and added them to her newly regained memorabilia in the backpack, leaving only the yearbook out.

Sitting down on her bed, she flipped it open and felt her heart leap again at the mere sight of him.

Jake looked so young and… untouched… in it.

Her fingertips caressed the image softly. He was lean and gangly compared to the rest of his bulky teammates, yet he seemed bursting with energy.

His hair had been longer then, with a dark, tousled fringe that almost reached his eyes, and his smile… God, his unique smile… it made her melt despite its being only a photograph.

And suddenly Heather remembered… __

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tbc...


	18. Chapter 18

**_Chapter 18_**

_…oOo…_

_It had been shortly before the game. Her father had taken her to the concession stand for the candy apple she'd been begging for. _

_Happily sucking off the bright red caramel coating, Heather had been too sidetracked to notice her surroundings and promptly got tackled by a pack of teenage boys hurrying toward the locker room, wearing _**Jericho High**_ lettermen's jackets._

_Almost in slow-motion, she could see the apple flying from her hands, inexorably obeying gravity, when suddenly a slender, tanned hand shot forwards and caught it mid-air._

_Her blue eyes had gone wide with awe, then shot upwards and met soft, hazel eyes twinkling in amusement down at her._

_"Hey, kiddo… be careful. It'd be a shame to waste that candy apple…" _

_Then the slim, older boy knelt down and handed the apple back to her, licking his now caramel coated fingers and casting a crooked half-smile at her which just took her breath away. _

_"You ok?" he asked concerned, his eyes searching her face._

_Heather managed a shy nod, piping "Y-yes… Thank you!" at him._

_Then one of his friends called out impatiently. "Jake, c'mon, we need to make a run for it or Coach Brendner will rip us into pieces!" _

_The boy – so Jake was his name – rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I'm on my way, Stanley… don't be such a girl!"_

_He stood up again, towering over her, and bestowed upon her another lopsided smile and a wink, then turned and jogged to join his friends._

_…oOo…_

Heather's eyes shot open and she covered her mouth with her hands.

Gosh… she had met Jake already in New Bern when she had been a little girl! She had never realized that until now… She had been ten years old and Jake must have been what? Seventeen?

If she remembered rightly, for a long time afterward she had harbored warm feelings for that boy… honestly, he had been her first heart-throb! She'd had a soft spot for warm, brown eyes ever since…

Heather sucked in her breath, because that meant… that she'd had a crush on Jake Green from the age of ten to twenty-five?

Jeeeeez… that was just crazy!

She rolled her eyes at herself. That was just so characteristic, that was so… 'Heather'.

She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that obviously she had always been in love with Jake Green... 

* * *

tbc...


	19. Chapter 19

**_Chapter 19_**

It was like this confession broke down the walls she had tried to build up so thoroughly; her longing for Jake grew even more urgent, became unbearable… God… how much she missed him… even if he was not meant to be with her, she needed to see him, to hear his soft voice, to see his aloof smile… she needed to feel safe in his proximity.

Hugging the yearbook tightly to her chest, she finally fell asleep, dreaming of Jake and Jericho, dreaming of a stolen bite of chocolate cake, dreaming of water drops on smooth skin, of stolen kisses, of safety in his arms…

* * *

tbc...


	20. Chapter 20

**_Chapter 20_**

The morning came quickly.

Heather rushed through her routine, it was too cold to dawdle and she just couldn't spend any time longer here in New Bern than necessary.

Leaving her room, she just nodded shortly at the two watchdogs at her door – thankfully soon she would never see them again - and turned left, following the wooden corridor to the dining room.

One last breakfast with Constantino and Lizzy. She could do that. It wouldn't take long, and then she would be on her way…

Praying silently and squaring her shoulders, she opened the door – and was flabbergasted to find the room empty!

That was definitely a first, but she wondered whether it was a good or a bad thing. She just didn't know and it unsettled her.

Heather turned nervously on her heels and returned to her room, retrieved her backpack, and then headed downstairs.

For sure one of the deputies always hanging around could give her a lift to the factory; she needed to see to it that the windmill got packed and loaded properly – and after that they could be on the move…

Lightheaded with relief, Heather was almost through the front door when she heard a shout from behind. Recognizing the voice, she froze in her tracks and turned slowly around, shivering involuntarily as a sense of danger overtook her.

It was Lizzy, approaching quickly.

"You really wanted to leave us without so much as saying goodbye?" she pouted, her eyes glistening wickedly.

"Well… I thought we did already yesterday… and when nobody was in the dining room, I – I thought…" Heather stammered, losing her train of thought when Lizzy reached out and linked arms with her, dragging her back into the Manor.

"Nahhh… come on, Constantino awaits you at his den…" she stated, her grasp like steel, making Heather wince.

She had no choice but to re-enter the house, mercilessly led to Constantino's study by Lizzy's death grip.

The closing of the front door sounded like a shot and made her jump. All of a sudden she felt trapped, with her back against the wall…

Heather swallowed, fear settling in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, she just knew she was screwed…

* * *

tbc...


	21. Chapter 21

**_Chapter 21_**

Once they reached their destination, Lizzy knocked sharply. Without waiting for an answer, she pried the door open and roughly jostled Heather into the room, making her stumble forward, coming wearily to a halt in front of Constantino's cruel eyes.

"Heather." The softness of his voice was belied by the cold expression on his face. Heather staggered backwards involuntarily only to end up in Lizzy's arms again, but this time they gripped her, vice-like, and held her in place.

"W-what's this supposed to mean? Why did Lizzy drag me in here like a criminal?" she managed to work through her suddenly dry mouth, fighting hard to regain her posture. She didn't want him to know how much she was panicking right now, how much she feared them…

"Let go of me!" Heather tried to shrug Lizzy off but to no avail as Lizzy's grip on her just tightened, fingers digging deeply into soft flesh, bruising it immediately and making her tear up.

And then she saw Constantino's face split into a fearsome smile, cutting through his beard like a knife, and desperation hit her so hard, it felt like she was drowning…

Whatever he was up too, it would be bad…

* * *

tbc...


	22. Chapter 22

**_Chapter 22_**

"Tsk, tsk…" he clicked his tongue tauntingly, as if reprimanding a stubborn child or a bad dog, and stood up, rounding his table to stroke her cheek with one finger, grinning even wider when she tried to shy away from his touch; but Lizzy held her too tightly… she couldn't escape…

Then he turned deliberately away from her and stated, "I'm really disappointed that you are reacting that way… what did I ever do to you? I've been like an uncle to you since you were born; like a father since Will died, and like a friend when you and your beloved Jericho needed one… and now look at you…"

He swiveled around and stabbed his finger painfully in her chest.

"You act like I'm a bad man… but all I want is what's best for New Bern," he said, his voice growing more menacing with each word, "and right now, that includes you…"

"I… I don't understand…" Heather mumbled, fear making it hard for her to think straight. Why should she be important for New Bern?

"We need those technical skills of yours. I have some more ideas for what we can produce, and you will help us with that."

Heather sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to meet his smoldering gaze.

"No," she replied in her best teacher voice, which she usually reserved for stubborn third-graders. "You can't just change our bargain like that! We agreed that I would be allowed to use your factory for building that windmill, and that if I were successful, I would be free to return with it to Jericho. In return, I would cede the blueprints and the assembly instructions to you and your men so you could make more. That's the deal! Nothing more – nothing less! I held up my end, now you hold up yours!"

Lizzy laughed out loud, even intensifying her forceful hold on Heather. "She's a feisty one, that's for sure. We will have a lot of fun with her…" she purred, then flicked her tongue out and licked Heather's cheek with pleasure.

In shock, Heather tried to jerk away. With one fluent motion, Lizzy loosened her grip on Heather's shoulder only to grasp Heather's hair, brutally pulling her head back, making her yelp in pain, whilst her other hand crept upwards, running roughly over Heather's breasts - the meaning of the gesture was unmistakable and made Heather shudder - and finally resting on her left shoulder, digging firmly into her tender flesh, the hard length of her forearm choking Heather effectively.

In her panicked state, it took only moments for the sudden loss of air to cloud her sight and Heather could feel her knees beginning to buckle under her weight.

Then she heard Lizzy whisper into her ear, her lips so close that they grazed the skin of her earlobe. "I have news for you, cutie pie…" her voice became louder, the tone hard and chilling, "the deal is off…"

"Lizzy, please, we are civilized, aren't we? I'm sure Heather will be a good girl the moment I explain to her WHY she WILL work with us… don't you agree?" Constantino said in a patronizing, yet threatening, tone.

With a sound of disappointment, Lizzy released Heather and stepped back, leaving Heather to struggle for balance and air.

Coughing and wide-eyed, she backed away, desperately trying to get as much distance between her and them as possible.

God… what had she gotten herself into… this just couldn't be true, she must be dreaming… but the pain in her scalp and her still ragged breathing proved otherwise.

Constantino just grinned and said, "Enough of the games… let's just show her, why don't we?"

Show her what? Heather had thought that her fear had already grown as big as possible, but she had been mistaken… a full-blown panic attack set in.__

Laughing loudly, Lizzy left the room just to return a minute later.

She was not alone…

* * *

tbc...


	23. Chapter 23

**_Chapter 23_**__

Tight in Lizzy's grasp and with a look of pure anguish on her face, Stella was hustled into the study and with a careless, hard shove she fell into Constantino, who brutally grabbed her small chin with his big hand. He jerked her around and showed her tearstained little face to Heather.

Again speaking in a gentle tone, he said, "Lizzy told me that you have a soft spot for kids… especially for this one. I gave the order to bring them in, and my men provided me with nine new slaves this morning. I've already shipped them out; they will bring some good money in Nebraska - they're always looking for fresh young meat out there…"

A stifled sound escaped Heather and her hands fluttered up to cover her mouth.

He chuckled at her reaction, stroking Stella's hair and shoulders with his free hand, obviously relishing the feeling of her trembling body against his.

The man was a monster. What he just said, for sure it couldn't… it just couldn't… Heather's mind shied away from finishing that thought…

"So, it's up to you, Heather…" Constantino stopped stroking Stella and curled his fingers deeply into the little girl's shoulder. His tone became clipped. "You will do as I say or this little girl will suffer for your disobedience. Are we clear?"

The small girl wailed in pain but didn't dare move.

Heather couldn't take it any longer and stepped forward, one hand outstretched to Stella, the other still covering her mouth, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Please… stop it…" she uttered with a choked voice. "Just stop…"

Constantino's hand relaxed a little and he gave her a fatherly smile. "I see we understand each other now, don't we?"

Unable to turn her gaze away from Stella's fearful eyes, Heather whispered her answer. "Yes, we do…"

"That's my girl… Now listen carefully."

Heather tried to concentrate on him through the buzzing in her ears, but Constantino's next words cut easily through, they hit her like a blow in the gut.

"You will not return to Jericho. My men will take you back to the factory and show you your new workspace. You will accept unquestioningly what I assign you to do. Aside from that, nothing will change - you will stay here at the cabin with me and continue to join us for our little dinners. If you are obedient, you and your little fosterling will not be harmed; but if you try to thwart me, I will lay my hands on her first, while you watch, and then it will be your turn…"

Suddenly he hesitated, exchanging a glance with Lizzy and then his smile became…dirty.

"Nah, wait. We had an interesting discussion the other night… Maybe you should know that we came to the conclusion that you will be valuable to us even if you mess up… Lizzy here is convinced that you still are a virgin, and you don't want to find out the value of a virgin at the slave market… especially when she's healthy and pretty, like you…"

Heather was gob-smacked. Helpless and horrified, she stared into the scornful eyes of the man she once had called Uncle, on whose knees she had bounced as a little girl, who had bought her ice cream, who had made her giggle until she begged for mercy…

The smirk dropped from his bearded face, replaced by a cruel expression which made her skin tingle in fear. "Do we have an understanding, Heather?" he asked coldly.

All she could muster was another timid nod. Her body was shaking violently now and Heather was not sure how much more she could take.

"Good. Now, don't forget what's at stake for you…" he threatened again and shoved Stella into her arms. Then he gave Lizzy a signal to take them away, obviously no longer interested… for now…__

* * *

tbc...


	24. Chapter 24

**_Chapter 24_**

Holding the little girl close, Heather followed Lizzy numbly out of the study.

_She was trapped in a nightmare. It must be one… this couldn't be reality… it just couldn't… _

The moment the door had closed and they were out of sight, Lizzy grabbed her forcefully and shoved her hard against the wall, making her squeal in surprise. She ignored the moaning girl in Heather's arms and pressed her body completely against Heather's.

Heather froze, stricken with fear… she didn't even dare to breathe, so close was the Asian to her.

Lizzy's green eyes unwaveringly pierced Heather's azure ones, then her gaze dropped slowly to Heather's lips and a split-second later she planted her mouth over Heather's, kissing her hungrily.

At first, she was scared stiff but then Heather tried to fight the other woman, but Lizzy was just stronger than her and seemed to enjoy the ineffective attempts of her prey to break free.

Then she bit deeply into Heather's lower lip and pulled suddenly away, eliciting a cry of pain from her.

Licking her lips sensually, the Asian woman made her point, her eyes gleaming cruelly. "Don't ever think of crossing me or Constantino. I promise you one thing: If you so much as try, I will kill the little one in front of you…"

Touching her bleeding lip with a shaking hand, Heather stared wordlessly at the other woman, then lowered her gaze in defeat and nodded silently.

Lizzy just grinned smugly at her and turned, motioning them to follow.

Pulling Stella close, Heather obeyed, her posture broken and distraught.

Slowly, it occurred to her that she would never see Jericho again, would never get another chance to make things right between her and Jake…

Heather fought hard to suppress the sobs which were bubbling up within her.

She was now a slave like the other women here in New Bern; maybe living in a golden cage by comparison, but a slave nonetheless… the threats Constantino and Lizzy had voiced were encaging her, were choking her.

Heather's terrified eyes dropped to the black curls of the girl at her side and she knew she would never willingly endanger the child. They had found the only thing which really tied her hands…

Her shoulders sagged and all she wanted to do was resign, giving in to the desperation flooding her senses, because she was lost… truly lost… There was nothing left she could do to help herself…

A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek and quickly she wiped it away, not willing to show them more of her weakness than she already had.

But suddenly she became aware of Stella's small hand, warm and trusting nestled into hers.

Heather frowned, nursing softly on her bleeding lip, exerting herself to follow the train of thought that had just sprung up.

If it were only her, she just would give up, here and now…but there was Stella.

Stifling a gasp of surprise with her free hand she understood all of a sudden, her eyes rounding in astonishment.

Constantino and his witch had overlooked one small detail in their evil plan to bind her.

Yes, blackmailing Heather with threatening Stella's life was a well thought-out plan to make her submissive… but at the same time it was the only thing which would make her take a stand and fight for something - it would make her fight for Stella.

Steeling herself for the things to come she accepted all risks whatsoever her sudden resolve would bring.

To save that girl's life she needed to find the strength to do what they wanted her to do, regardless of the costs, regardless of what it would be…

Working hard to play her role as a broken toy as convincingly as possible Heather led the girl out of the Manor and followed Lizzy to her car.

She would do her utmost to find a way out of here – for Stella and for herself…

* * *

_**THE END**_

* * *

**A/N:** if you not already have, please read the companion piece "Constantino's Pet"

Thanks so much for reading!

And please… I have so many readers out there, I can see it in the statistics… would you **_please – please – please_** leave me a comment, so that I know if I have done good, what you think about it, if it was bad?

That would be soooooo nice! :)


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